it is very rare to fall on your board. the only time you might hit your head with it is when you are coming from underwater and the board is above you. not a big deal. the only time you will scrape yourself is when you land sketchy and keep holding on and your ankle or knee rubs on the grip tape. still not a big deal and doesnt happen too often.

yeah get your ollies solid and get lipslides and then start ollieing on to lipslides. BS shuvs are easier to learn and easier to pop then FS Shuvs. a lot of people start with fs shuvs but the trick is awkward to pop and the board gets behind you. once people learn bs shuvs they rarely fs shuv.

One thing that I leaned to do over time, is when you fall out over the front of the board, about 90% of the time, you will go under water. Do not come back up immediatly; instead, wait a few seconds, and feel around on the surface so you don't get a whack in the head.

Eventually, your fall's will become more natural, and you will learn how to keep the board away from you when you fall.

popped the skin open above my eybrow and needed stitches (didn't get them though, just butterfly taped it) I fell of the board and when my head popped out of the water ....BAM!!! that sh*t hurt, ruined the whole day. I think some boards can bee too heavy. Always go back to my Devotid and Integ...

I have split my head open from my board and also broke my nose ( head was w2w and nose on a shuv). I think a heavier board gives a better chance of an injury due to its mass. I broke my nose with a hyperlite vinyl which is uber heavy with a shape edge. Also as with any sport the more you push yourself the greater the chance of injury. I have developed an automatic reaction of placing my forearms in front of my face wheneve I bail....seems to be working.